Desert Spiny Lizard and Collared Lizard, Utah

A family of four of these curious creatures hung around our camp at the intersection of Fools Canyon and the Escalante River in April, 2007. Thanks to Doug Robertson (Boulder) for correcting my identification from the incorrect Collared Lizard to the correct Desert Spiny Lizard. Further research shows it under the name Yellow-Backed Spiny Lizard, sceloporus magister. The site http://utahherps.info/lizards.html is useful.

And the following is a different species, from a trip in April 2009: A Great Basin Collared Lizard, crotaphytus bicinctores.

And here is a collared lizard from the Rattlesnake Arches trail in Grand Junction, May 2012. I could get the camera within a foot. Note the apparent bite out of his rear left thigh.

Here is a nice head-on shot of the same fellow (photo by Beth Seeley)